Description: Rust brown felt hat. The brim of the hat is turned down all the way around, there is a piece of brown ribbon around the crown of the hat. The ribbon also extends form the centre top of the hat and down one side where it is covered with a small bow made from the same ribbon. The inside crown of the hat has brown lining around it.

Felt is a non-woven cloth made from pressed and matted fibres. It is made from natural animal fibres and is usually soaked in soapy water and agitated until the fibres form together to make a cloth. Another process for making felt was used from the mid-17th century until the mid-20th century and was called "carroting." It involved using mercury which led to mercury poisoning in hatters and is the origin of the term "mad as a hatter." Mercury was banned in the felt industry in 1941 in the United States. Felt can be very soft but is durable and has the ability to be formed into any shape and can be dyed any colour. For more information see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felt

Mrs. Jean Stager and her late husband Bill, moved to Lorne Park in 1952 and remained there for 43 years. In the mid 1990s they moved to Oakville but remained Charter Members of the Clarkson Road Presbyterian Church. While living in Lorne Park, Mrs. Stager worked on Home and School Society for Lorne Park Public School and was on the Auxiliary of the Mississauga Symphony. She worked as a Nurse at Mississauga Hospital but also for the Victoria Order of Nurses (VON) in Peel. Mrs. Stager is moving to British Columbia in late 2007. These hats that she donated in the early 1980s, along with other items from this accession, belonged to her mother Mrs. Veitch and were kept in a trunk that was given Mrs. Stager.